Young Justice Season 3 - Life Behind the Mask

Episode/Chapter 11 - Gone

"It's okay. The guy's in jail. You don't have to be so upset anymore!" Artemis said as Nightwing paced back and forth in their living room.

"No! It's not okay! Why'd Aqualad have to put you in that kind of position?!" Nightwing shouted.

"Dick! Aqualad's fine! I'm fine!" Artemis said.

"That guy! He was so close to...hurting you." Nightwing said as he sat down and put his face in his hands, "that guy....he had a knife...he was ready to..."

"Dick, you weren't even there!" Artemis said.

"And I should've been. I owe so much to M'gann. If it hadn't been for her, you wouldn't be here right now...how could I be such a terrible leader...a terrible boyfriend." Nightwing said and hunched over in his chair, his olive bangs covering his eyes. Artemis felt bad for him. She walked over to him and put her arm on his back.

"Sweetie. I'm home. I'm safe. With you. It's okay. You may think you're a bad leader, but we all think you're the best leader this team could have. And you may think you're a terrible boyfriend, but your girlfriend thinks that you're the best boyfriend in the world." Artemis said as she sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thanks for being there for me." Nightwing said as he held Artemis.

"Hey, thanks for being there for me! AND for worrying about me so badly." Artemis smiled.

"And for understanding me...when I don't even understand myself." Nightwing muttered.

"That's what I'm here for!" Artemis smiled and pulled him into a kiss. Then when she pulled away, she removed his mask, "you sleeping with me tonight?"

"I mean, I don't have anywhere better to be." Dick smiled as he picked her up and brought her to their bedroom, then dropped her on the bed.

"Besides." Artemis smirked as she pulled him down on top of her, "it's been soo long."

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Dick gasped as he sat up in bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the time.

"....1:23..." He muttered to himself. He looked around and saw Artemis sleeping soundly next to him. He let out a sigh of relief. He had another nightmare. The same nightmare. He's been having it a lot lately. Every night, and he had no idea if it meant anything, and he really hoped it didn't. He got out of bed and bent down to pick up his Nightwing uniform off the ground where he had thrown it that night. He put his clothes on and headed to the door. Before he left, he turned back to where Artemis was still sleeping. Then he put his domino mask back over his deep blue eyes and he quietly shut the door behind him.

He went out to fight crime. He sat atop a rooftop waiting for a robbery or something. He always did this to let off some steam or to clear his head. Most times, he felt the need to punch something, or someone. Suddenly, a few minutes after his arrival, he heard a car crash in a nearby alley, so he shot his grappling gun at the nearest building and swung off to get there. He saw there was a gang of illegal drug dealers. They were selling drugs there, so Nightwing vanished.

"Is this all?" The man holding the bag of money asked.

"Yep. A deal's a deal." The other man said as he held another bag of narcotics. The man with the money swung the bag and snorted.

"Good. Because you have no idea how many banks I had to go through to get this money!"

"I hope you remember which banks, because you're gonna be taking them back. Oh, and the narcotics got to go, too." The men heard someone say.